


My Forever

by happydaygirl



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Healing Bath, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani is an Incurable Romantic, Love, M/M, Missing scene to end of the film, Soulmates, beginning of PTSD, calming love, joe is the perfect husband
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28571661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happydaygirl/pseuds/happydaygirl
Summary: As the team head to a safe house after Merrick, Joe knows something is wrong with Nicky- can he help his partner start to come to terms with his vicious death at the hands of Keane?
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 12
Kudos: 158





	My Forever

Joe is just getting out the car at their safe house after the events of Merrick, his body battered and bruised, when he turns his head and sees Nicky gingerly duck his own head down before getting out behind him. He watches as he lifts a slightly shaky hand to cover his head, still caked with blood and brain matter, with a beanie hat, his slender fingers lightly touching the back of his head. The tremor is so slight that only Joe notices- the others are already moving towards the small brick house on the edge of the city, bags of weapons in their hands.

Nicky looks up as Joe curls his hand around his wrist; they look at each other for a few seconds, the world melting away as they do so. No words need to be exchanged at this time; their eyes tell a language all of their own.

A small smile, an understanding, comforting wink, the squeeze of a hand- they walk together down the path, a worried undercurrent filling Joe’s stomach as Nicky looks on ahead, his face pale and jaw clenched.

* * *

He’s been in the bathroom for over an hour. Joe sits on the bed, nervously kneading his hands on his lap as he watches the closed door- the sink taps have turned off now, he can hear. Nicky had used them to disguise the noise of his retching and coughing as he picked off the brain matter from the back of his head- his heart had broken at the noise, yet Nicky had locked the door behind him. He deserved his privacy. He would still be here afterward, waiting for him.

The soft splash of the water filling the bath fills Joe’s ears now; he smiles as he envisions Nicky settling in to his hot bath, eyes closed as the steam conceals his face- his expression falters as he hears sudden movement at the door, before the bathroom latch was unlocked and opened.

‘Are you alright?’ He asks Nicky, who stands enveloped in steam from the hot water. Nicky nods, before moving to the side, looking back towards the bath.

‘I may have used up all the hot water,’ he says, voice quiet, ‘you know how these old houses are.’

Joe nods with a shrug. ‘Doesn’t matter.’ He says, giving his partner a comforting smile. ‘You need it more than me.’

‘That’s not what I meant…’ Nicky huffs out a small laugh, rolling his eyes affectionately. ‘I meant…would you like to share? The bath is plenty big enough and the water is almost scalding.’

Joe is on his feet before Nicky can finish he sentence. ‘I would love to.’ He smiles, bringing his hands to either side of Nicky’s face and drawing him in for a kiss.

‘Good,’ Nicky smiles into the embrace, before leading him into the room, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

Joe closes his eyes as he slips into the water- it is indeed almost scalding, yet the heat is comforting to him as he relaxes into the bath, as if purging the day’s events away. He opens his eyes as Nicky steps in now, before gingerly sitting into the water and leaning back so he was pressed against Joe’s chest. Their skin, now wet and splashed with goosebumps from the heat, relaxes against each other as Joe draws up a handful of hot water and spreads it against Nicky’s chest, eliciting a shudder from him that makes him smile.

He breathes in deeply as Nicky lets his head drop onto Joe’s shoulder, totally relaxing against him now. They entwine their hands in the water as they both close their eyes.

There’s silence for a few minutes. Joe focuses on the heartbeat of the man he loves more than anything in the world; it’s deep and strong and Joe is thankful for every thud as they breathe in together, totally as one.

‘I thought today was my day…’ Nicky finally speaks, the sound almost causing Joe to jump slightly. ‘When I woke up and saw my brains on the white walls and floor, I was so thankful that I came back.’

Joe turns his head and presses a kiss to Nicky’s temple. ‘It was not your time, my love.’ He whispers into his skin. He had thought it to; the image of Nicky’s lifeless body- senselessly, disgustingly discarded by Keane - would haunt him formany nights to come, he knew that.

He smiles at him as Nicky looks up, eyes glassy. ‘We have been killing, and have been killed, for centuries. Yet, today was the first time I was scared. Really scared-‘ he drew his legs up, sending a cascade of water over their bodies.

‘I know, I know…’ Joe soothes, wrapping his arms around the other man’s chest and drawing him closer. He kisses his temple again, letting his lips linger there as Nicky trembles under his arms. ‘You are still here, and I am so thankful. Your death by Keane was a traumatic one, and one you cannot just discard and move on from like normal- I am here with you, and we will get you through it together. You need to talk to me- I will always be here for you.’ As he speaks he lifts up a hand and gently cards his fingers through the damp, slightly matted hair on the back of Nicky’s head.

He feels Nicky tense at the touch, and he wonders if it’s still painful. As he continues to move his fingers in circles he sits up a little straighter and moves forwards, now pressing his lips against theold exit wound. The kiss is hard and meaningful and he hopes Nicky knows what he’s trying to convey.

He looks down as Nicky lets out a shaky breath - he moves his head up and their lips meet, soft and loving as Joe now curls the hand around his partner’s jawline, fingers dipping into the hollow of one cheek as he strokes his face.

As they part they smile at each other, before relaxing again. ‘I’m glad Nile made us stop for supplies before we came here- I’ve got two lovely bottles of red wine in my bag, all for us.’ Joe tells him, grinning as Nicky lets out a laugh. ‘That sounds like a plan.’ He nods, before they quickly wash and stand. As they bundle themselves into thick white towels they exchange another, loving, look.

‘Thank you for your kindness,’ Nicky tells him him a quiet voice, eyes turning glassy once more.

Joe shakes his head, drawing him closer and kissing his forehead before enveloping him in an embrace. ‘My darling, you are my forever- there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.’ He squeezes Nicky lightly, if only to conceal his own breaking heart as he hears Nicky swallow thickly.

‘Come- let us go to bed with our wine; let us forget today for a while,’ he nods as Nicky draws back, nodding himself.

Smiling, Joe holds out a hand- Nicky takes it, and Joe leads him to the bed, knowing that soon today would be the past, and they would still be here, stronger than ever,

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic of 2021- I hope you enjoyed my little offering.
> 
> Please let me know what you think- I adore each and every comment, so please leave a little word or two 💜
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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